So-called local area networks (LANs) have been proliferating to facilitate communication since the 1970s. Certain LANs (e.g., those operating in accordance with IEEE 802.3) have provided enhanced electronic communication through wired media for decades. Since the late 1990s, LANs have expanded into wireless media so that networks may be established without necessitating wire connections between or among various network elements. Such LANs may operate in accordance with IEEE 802.11 (e.g., 802.11(a), (b), (e), (g), (k), (n), etc.) or other wireless network standards.
Although standard LAN protocols, such as Ethernet, may operate at fairly high speeds with inexpensive connection hardware and may bring digital networking to almost any computer, wireless LANs can often achieve the same results more easily and/or at a lower cost. Furthermore, wireless LANs provide increased mobility, flexibility, and spontaneity when setting up a network for two or more devices.
In wireless communication generally, signals are sent from a transmitter to a receiver using electromagnetic waves that emanate from an antenna. With a standard wireless LAN, for example, these electromagnetic waves are sent equally in all directions from a central point of emanation. Receiving devices positioned at any angle with respect to the emanating point that are sufficiently close thereto may participate in the wireless LAN. As a result, both infrastructure and ad-hoc wireless networks may be established.
However, there are drawbacks to such standard omni-directional wireless LANs or omni-directional wireless wide area networks (WANs). For example, transmission range is limited, electromagnetic interference is unmanaged, network congestion may grow ungoverned, and the likelihood of packet collisions is unbounded. Furthermore, inefficiencies may multiply unchecked if two or more centralized points of emanation happen to be positioned so as to have overlapping coverage areas or are otherwise sufficiently proximate to one another.
Accordingly, there is a need for schemes and/or techniques for at least partially ameliorating one or more of the above mentioned drawbacks and/or inefficiencies.